Apparatus for making welt units



Nov. 9, 1937. u w, C, CARD, JR 2,098,563 A n APPARATUS FOR MAKING WELT UNITS Filed Aug. 26, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet Nov. 9, 1937. w, CARD. JR

APPARATUS FOR MAKING WELT UNITS Filed Aug. 26, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 t `Patented Nov. 9, 1937 APPARATUS FOR MAKING WELT UNITS William o. oai-d, Jr., Winthrop, Mass, assigner to Compo Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boston, 4Mass., a corporation of Delaware Application August 2s, 1936, serial No. 97,908

12 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for forming a welt unit useful in the manufacture of certain types of shoes.

In a copending application, Serial No. 38,685,

filed August 31, 1935, there is described and claimed a novel form of shoe in which a leather Welt is stitched to a fabric fastening strip to form a welt unit, the welt portion of which is sewed around the edge of an outsole and the fastening strip portion of which is cemented to the bottom 0f a lasted upper. This welt unit per se, which preferably has a doubled edge on the fabric strip..

forming a ribto which the welt is attached, is claimed in another copending application, Serial No. 50,070, ined November 16, 1935.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel apparatusvfor making such welt units.

More particularly, objects of the invention are to provide an apparatus for doubling the edge of a fabric fastening strip and sewing a welt to such 'doubled edge, and for thereafter undoubling the strip to position it properly for eventual cementing to a lasted upper.

Further objects are to provide such an apparatus utilizing a more or less conventional sewing machine having in combination novel attachments enabling it to perform the functions needed to make the herein contemplated article, in which such attachments are simple, rugged, and readily attachable with the .machine on which they are mounted.

Other objects of the invention will in -part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the fea tures-of construction,I combination of elements,

and arrangement of parts, whichY will be exem-` plified in the constructionhereinafter set forth and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

40 For a fuller understanding of the nature andobjects of the invention reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

"45 Fig. 1 is ahorizontal sectional view taken along Fig. 4 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view on an enlarged scale corresponding with line 4--4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentaryperspective view'on an enlarged scale of the portion of the mechanism 5 adjacent to the stitching needle;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front elevation on an enlarged scale showing details of the mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view across a 10 completed welt unit; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view corresponding to Fig. 5, but showing another form of mechanism.

The present apparatus isespecially designed l5 to form a stitched welt unit such as that illustrated in Fig. 7. Referring rst to that iigure, it will be seen that the unit\comprises a welt preferably of leather a, which preferably has a stitching groove b on its esh side anda bev- 20 elled edge on its opposite or grain side. A fabric fastening strip c having a doubled fold at d which forms a downwardly extending attaching rib lying closely adjacent to theA b evelled corner and inner edge of the welt, is stitched to the Welt by 25 means of stitching e which passes through the doubled fold or attaching rib. The fabric c provides a cementable area on its upper surface l. which is adapted to'be stuck against the bottom of a lasted upper, and it will be noted that this 30 cementable surface extends both inwardly and outwardly from the stitching e.

In the construction of a shoe the welt a is first stitched around the edge of an outsole and the shoe bottom thus formed is attached to the bot- 35 tom of the lasted 'upper by cementing strip c thereto as mentioned above. Since downward kicking or scufng forces which may be applied to the outsole are transmitted to the cemented strip through stitches e, it is of advantage to 40 have the cemented portions of the strip located both inwardly and outwardly from the stitches as i such a construction makes it more diflicult to peel apart the cemented bond. The welding a. and strip c, are adapted vto be fed from reels of indefinite length and formed into a welt unit strip of indefinite length which may later be cut into sections of appropriate length for attachment to a given outsole.

Referring more particularly to the remaining 5g' drawings, the apparatus for forming such a continuous welt unit comprises a sewing machine, generally designated l0. `which may be of any suitable or conventional type adapted to form any suitable kind of permanent stitch, and which may be equipped and modied to perform the functions herein described.` For example, a Singer class rI--31 sewing machine is found to be well suited to the purpose. The machine has a driven stud shaft II, and suitable mechanism for driving the needle I2 therefrom. In the form shown in Figs. 1 to 6 a reciprooable presser foot I 3 is also provided and is mounted for vertical up and down movement in timed relation with the needle in the usual or any other suitable manner. This presser foot is of special construction, as will hereinafter appear. The thread feeding mechanism, spoo/ls, bobbins. etc. may all be of conventional form.

A reel I4 for the welting a is mounted above the machine and the continuous welt strip is fed downwardly through a guide bracket I5 toward the in-feed side of the needle. A similar reel I4' is positioned beneath the machine and a continuous strip of fabric c is likewise led toward the in-feed side of the needle through a suitable slot I4" provided in the machine base. The fabric strip is threaded through a suitable folder I3. As shown in Fig. 5, this comprises a U shaped outer plate and an vinner straight tucking plate I1 spaced therefrom by shims, one of which, numbered |8, forms a guiding edge for the fabric strip. .This strip is of determined width, usually about three-quarters of an inch, andthe guide shim I8 accordingly determines just how much of the inner edge is doubled over by the folder. As illustrated, this edge is doubled back a fairly short distance, say one-fourth the width of strip c, in order to provide adequate material for the ultimately formed rib d and to provide a cementable surface located outwardly as well as inwardly from the attaching stitches. The folder I6 is located just ahead of the stitching needle |2 and positions the strip with respect thereto. The strip is additionally guided adjacent 'to such needle by an adjustably fixed abutment I9. The welt a is fed from bracket I5 beneath the presser foot I3 which, as best shown in Fig. 6, has a guide shoulder 20 on its under side, which is adapted to engage an edge of the welt to register itwith the double fabric strip. The guide abutment I9 also has a portion engageable against the inner edge of the welt to aid in maintaining this registry. The needle is so located with respect to these registered parts as to stitch along an inseam e (Fig. 6) thus joining the doubled attaching rib to the inner edge of the welt.

The feeding of the welt and strip is preferably effected by a pair of rollers 2| and 22 which also have the function of undoubling the doubled fabric /strip to the flatcement receiving condition illustrated in Fig. '1. However, it is contemplated thatY separate material feeding and. 4undoubling means may be provided. 'I'he rollers 2| and 22 are provided with opposed cylindrical surfaces 23 and 24 respectively, and opposed conical surfaces 25 and 26 respectively. The welt a passes between these conical surfaces and the 'fabric strip is passed between the cylindrical surfaces, and such surfaces are arranged at an angle to undouble the free portion of strip c and flex and Y mill it beyond its original position so that any tendency to spring ,back to its stitched doubled condition is largely overcome, and so that the inseam e is pulled around into the position shown in Fig. 7.

'Ihe roller 2| is freely rotatable on a short stud shaft 21 which is mounted on a swinging bracket 28 (Fig. 4) pivotally mounted on the machine base. A xed bracket 29 is located just abovev the swinging bracket and carries a double gear housing 30. A stud shaft 3| extends from the housing 33 to the roller 22 and has the latter keyed to it. A spring bolt 32 passes o through the iixed bracket 29 and the swingabie bracket 28 and a compression spring 33 is seated between bracket 28 and a head on the lower end of the bolt to give the brackets and the rollers carried thereby a normal bias toward each other.

The shaft 3| carrying roller 22 has a gear 34 fixed to it which meshes with a gear 35 (Fig. 2) which is located within the housing 30 and is carried by a drive shaft 38 mounted between the housing 30 'and a bracket 31 at the other end of the machine. 'Ihis drive shaft is intermittently driven from the main stud shaft I |to impart feeding movement to the roller 22 in timed relationwith the parts associated therewith. Mechanism for effecting this comprises a cam 38, shown in Fig. 3, fixed to the shaft A lever 39 is pivotally mounted on a bracket 40 at 4|, and has a roller 42 riding against the cam 38. The' lower end of the lever 39 has a pivotal connection at 43 with a link 44. The pivotal connection 43 is adapted to be adjustably moved along a slot 45 in the lever 39 in order to vary the throw of link 44. The other end of link 44 is pivotally attached to a rocker arm 46 freely mounted on the shaft 36. A pawl 41 is pivotally mounted on the rocker arm 48 and has its nose spring biased into contact with a ratchet wheel 48 fixedto the drive shaft 38. It will be seen that this mechanism is adapted to impart intermittent driving movement to :the shaft 36 from the 4constantly rotating cam 38. The amount of feeding movement may be controlled at 43 and 45 to correspondv with the rate of stitching as determined by the length of the individual stitches.

In operation, once the fabric strip c has been threaded through the folder I6 and registered with the guided welt a, these parts may be moved by hand until they are stitched for a short distance so that they reach the feed rollers 2| and 22, where they may be inserted and clamped in proper undoubling position between such rollers. As soon as these materials are thus clamped between the feeding rollers, the operation of the sewing machine shaft Il will thereafter automatically effect all of the movements needed to form a completed welt unit.

In Fig. 8 another form of guide means is shown. Here instead of using a reciprocable presser foot having a guide shoulder on its under side, a guide slot 49 exactly accommodating the welt a is provided above the folder I6. 'Ihis guide slot may be formed by means of an angle plate 50 adjustably mounted at 5|. The slot 49 is suitably aligned with the fabric strip guide plate I8 to effect the desired registry between the sewn parts, and this registry is further aided in the vicinity of the stitching needle by opposed abutments ||9 and 52, the latter being a continuation of a guiding side wall of the welt slot.

In both forms, the folding mechanism is mounted on an inclined or wedge shaped support 53 against which the welt unit rests durl ing the stitching operation. The needle I2, of course, clears this support, which'may be cut down in the vicinity of the needle for the sake of clearance, if desired or needed.

It will be seen that au apparatus has been pro- 75 vided which is well suited to fulfill its intended functions. Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also understood that the following claims are intended to cover al1 of the generic and speciic features of the invention herein described, and al1 statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, lwhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

stitching needle, means for doubling an edge of a A fabric fastening strip, means for positioning said doubled edge in registry with one edge of a welt beneath said needle, means for operating said needle to stitch said parts together, means for feeding said `ivelt and strip beneath said needle and thereafter undoubling said strip.

3. A machine for sewing welt units comprising a folderfor forming a doubled attaching rib along an edge of a fabric fastening strip, a stitching needle, means for positioning said doubled rib along an edge of a welt beneath said needle, means for driving said needle, opposed feed rollers having portions for engaging said welt and strip to undouble the latter after stitching, anddriving connections between said rollers and said needle driving means. l

4. 'A machine for sewing welt units; comprising means for doubling a fabric fastening strip, means for stitching it to a welt, opposed feed rollers having portions for engaging said welt and strip to undouble 'the latter after stitching, and means for driving said rollers and stitching means in timed relation.

5. A machine for sewing welt units, comprising means for doubling a fabric fastening strip, means for stitching'it to a welt, opposed feed rollers having peripheral portions for engaging said welt'and other peripheral portions for engaging saidwstrip after stitching; said roller portions being arranged at an angle with respect to each other to undouble said strip and flex it back beyond its initial position, and means for driving said stitching means and rollers.

6. A machine for sewing welt units. comprising stitching means, a folder positioned ahead'of said means for doubling the edge of a fabric fastening strip into a rib, a guide slot for a welt adjacent said folder, said folderA and slot being arranged to register the doubled edge of said strip and the inner edge of said welt beneath said stitching means, and means for driving said stitching means to attach said welt edge and rib.

'7. A machine for forming welt units, comprising a folder for forming a doubled rib on a fabric fastening strip, means for registering a welt with said rib, and means for stitching said welt to both folds of said rib.

8. A machine for forming welt units, comprising a folder for forming a doubled rib on a fabric fastening. strip, means for registering a welt with said rib, and means for stitching said welt to both folds of said rib, and means for thereafter undoubling the strip.

9. A machine for forming welt units, comprising a folder for forming a doubled rib on a fabric fastening strip, means for registering a welt with said rib, means for stitching said welt to both folds of said rib, and opposed rollers for thereafter engaging said welt and strip to straighten the latter out from its doubled position.

10. A machine for forming welt units, comprising a folder for forming a doubled rib on a fabric fastening strip, means for registering a welt with said rib, means for stitching said welt. to both folds of said rib, opposed relatively mov- 11. A machine forforming welt units, com-- prising a folder for forming a doubled rib on a fabric fastening strip, means for registering a welt with said rib, means for stitching said welt -to both folds of said rib, opposed relatively movable rollers for thereafter engaging said welt and strip to straighten the latter out from its doubled position, spring means giving said rollers a normal bias toward each other, and means for driving said rollers and stitching means in timed relation to impart feeding movement to said welt and strip.

12. A means for making continuous weltv units, comprising stitching means, a reel for a continuous strip of fabric and a reel for a continuous band of leather welting, a folder between said fabric holding reel and said stitching means for doubling an edge of said strip, means guiding said welting into registered overlying relation with the doubled edge of said strip, and means for driving said stitching means to sew said welt and said doubled edge.

WILLIAM C. CARD, Jn. 

